Stronger as One (#1, Completed)

8. ... another one opens

RILEY

It was a beautiful, calm night as we drove up the M6. I offered to help with the driving, but Lucien assured me it was not necessary as wolf shifters had greater stamina and better vision, especially at night, than humans. 

Show off!

But I had to admit it was nice to just sit there and chat with him. My mind was full of questions I wanted to ask about my family, the pack, life in Scotland.

It warmed my heart when Lucien was telling me how in love my mother and my father were- just like my mum and dad- and how when I was born, my father was over the moon to have a little girl. The silver hair and the odd birthmark were, apparently, quite unusual for a wolf shifter, but my father used to call me his "special princess" because of them. I wish I had the chance to know them, or any of my family. Sadly, my grandmother had passed away shortly after my brother had become alpha five years ago, and my grandfather followed a year later. On the bright side, my mother's sister lived near Manchester with her mate and my cousins, so Lucien promised to get us to meet one day.

I was also starting to understand better what he meant whenever he was referring to the pack. Lucien told me it was like one giant family, with all the pack members swearing their lives to protect the Alpha, Luna and the rest of the pack. There was also some crazy hierarchy that he was trying to explain to me, but it sounded more like he was reciting the Greek alphabet.

"So, let me get this straight- we have bears, foxes, wolves and dragons around our pack?" I exclaimed, finding it hard to believe what I was about to encounter.

"Well, there are other shifter packs too, but these are the ones we deal with the most. The Windcrest Pack, the Fire Dragons Clan, the Highland Sleuth and the Red Tails Skulk. Windcrest and Blackwood are two of the oldest packs in the country, so we have a lot of power and influence in the shifter world. That's why mum's progressive ideas were such a threat to some shifter leaders. Alpha Macalister, the Windcrest Alpha, was one of the main opposers of the cooperation between different shifter kinds, and he is a pain in my arse to this day. We don't exactly get along, but we have to at least keep up appearances, given our packs' reputations."

"I'm amazed that our mother was able to deal with all these close-minded men. She must have been an amazing, strong woman." The more I was discovering about her, the more I admired who she was. I often wondered where I got my bold personality from and now I finally knew. It felt like I had found one of the lost pieces of the giant puzzle that was Aurelie Boswell. 

Wait, should I be introducing myself as Aurelie Moreau now?

"She was! And our dad was her rock and her number one supporter, not just as her mate, but also as her Beta. Listen, we still have five more hours until we get there- why don't you get some sleep? It's going to be a pretty exhausting day for you when we get there, so get as much rest as you can."

"I think you might be right," I agree, my eyelids suddenly too heavy to remain open, so I let out a quiet yawn as I slowly started drifting off to sleep.

"I'm thrilled you decided to come with me, Riley." was the last thing I heard before I was completely out.

Next thing I knew, the sun was rising, and we were driving through the beautiful Scottish countryside. It was so green and free in contrast to the constraints of the cities. No wonder shifters lived here.

It left me completely speechless how stunning everything around us was as we drove through Trossachs National Park. The water of Loch Lomond made me want to dive right in- it was so clear that it almost looked shallow. I felt like I was still dreaming, but I knew it was all real.